Conference Speakers

With over 30 years of entrepreneurial experience, Alex focuses on translating decentralized technologies into practical, real-world applications. Over the past decade he has been actively involved in the development of decentralized energy systems, working with industry, government, and research partners to accelerate the digitalization of the energy sector. As Executive Chairman of the 2Tokens Foundation, he leads tokenization initiatives with partners such as the Port of Rotterdam and major financial institutions.Alex advocates the use of tokens as tools for digital transformation that can reshape value chains, governance, and ownership structures. In the energy domain, he is closely involved in the Power of the Many consortium, exploring how tokenization and digital infrastructure can enable decentralized energy markets, community participation, and more efficient use of renewable resources.

Anne Bicking held leading roles within E.ON Group from 2012-16 before taking on the task of holistic transformation at Thyssenkrupp. Bicking then returned to E.ON Inhouse Consulting as CFO and a member of the Management Board, where she was responsible for financial controlling and IT agendas. She co-developed E.ON One, which provides digital solutions for challenges in the areas of grid operations, e-mobility, and energy management. As an expert in digital energy solutions and now CEO of gridX, she aims to transform the scale-up into Europe's leading DER connectivity and flexibility platform.

As Managing & Technical Director of the OpenADR Alliance, Rolf Bienert oversees all aspects of the Alliance, including strategy, technical developments, and certification programs. Rolf has been an active member and manager of many industry organisations for over 25 years, driving the development of new technologies with a specific focus on standardisation, certification, and interoperability. Prior to the OpenADR Alliance, Rolf was the Technical Manager for a Telecom and Global Competence Center for emerging communication protocols at a global testing firm, Executive Directors for several industry alliances, and VP North America for an international test house.

Dr. Braun is leading the HV System Development at AVL in Germany.He is head of the Engineering Team in Ingolstadt. Before he was Project Manager for battery development projects for customers in Asia and Europe.He joined AVL in 2014 after graduating from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) with a PhD degree.During his time at KIT he was acting manager of the Engineering Methods and Management Group and researcher / consultant in development projects for automotive and non-automotive customers.Andreas holds a Diploma degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Jannik Carl is a Senior Energy Markets Manager at Kraken, specializing in the commercial optimization and trading of flexibility, with a focus on aggregated residential flexibility. With deep expertise in energy system modelling and European electricity market design, he develops strategies to unlock and monetize distributed assets, ranging from utility-scale sites to demand-side resources, across EMEA power markets. Prior to his role at Kraken, he spent four years at Aurora Energy Research, where he modelled the evolution of European electricity markets with a special focus on renewables, battery co-location and 24/7 Carbon-Free Electricity.

Laura Casolo Ginelli is an experienced professional in the energy industry, with over 8 years of expertise spanning technology, marketing, and product development. She has worked internationally with top-tier organizations like E.ON Drive, leveraging her skills to scale innovative solutions like smart EV charging and energy flexibility. Holding a Master's Degree in Energy Engineering from Milan Polytechnic, Laura is passionate about leveraging cutting-edge technologies to drive sustainability and create a more efficient energy future.

Mr Clerens studied law at the University of Saarbrücken and the University of Mainz. Since 1996, he has worked as a consultant for a private company specialising in European Affairs in Brussels. In his capacity as Brussels Representative of different European associations, he has been involved in the climate and energy field since 2003. He has managed the EASE office in Brussels as Secretary General since its establishment in September 2011. Since then, EASE has grown from the initial 13 founding members to over 70 and is still growing rapidly.

Liam Coman is a research analyst within the Clean Energy Technology research team at S&P Global. He researches the global inverter and power conversion systems (PCS) market within the energy storage and solar supply chain. He works with suppliers to analyse trends, produce market forecasts and assess the competitive landscape of the industry. Prior to joining S&P Global, Mr. Coman worked for an engineering consultancy specialising in environmental regulation and policy compliance. He holds an M.Eng in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering from Trinity College Dublin

Gianluca Corbellini is the CEO and co-founder of Hive Power, a SaaS which enables companies to manage anything connected to the grid, from Energy Communities to EV Charging. Gianluca holds a master's in Mathematical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, where he focused on Scientific Computing and Artificial Intelligence - before it became a buzzword. Collaborating throughout the years with the likes of E-On, Altran, Techstars, and the European Commission, Gianluca has deep experience in smart cities and energy. He possesses an acute expertise in gas commodity trading and renewables, particularly solar energy. While working on these technologies, Gianluca understood that Smart Grids as the key to improving energy systems and fighting climate change. This revelation led him to co-found Hive Power and bring the company to where it is today.

A native New Yorker who now calls Berlin home. She has been hosting corporate events, galas, and conferences for more than 10 years, as well as presenting corporate videos, product videos, and web TV. Before becoming a host, Marianna worked as a radio journalist for Deutsche Welle Radio, as well as a PR consultant and copywriter for renowned global agencies. Marianna studied comparative literature and philosophy at New York University.

With over 20 years' experience in the renewables space, Dr.-Ing. Garralaga is the co-founder and managing director of SMA Altenso GmbH where he has directly overseen over 2 GW of BESS projects and over 1 GW of hydrogen projects. Previously he worked for SMA Solar Technology AG as responsible for the business development and strategy of the business unit hybrid and storage, at Siemens AG as Program Manager Photovoltaics and also as head of the thin-film solar cell research department at Insitut für Solarenergieforschung Hameln (ISFH). He has also worked as consultant to multiple companies and lecturer in all continents and worked in over 1 GW of PV project deliveries. Enrique holds a PhD in Engineering from the Univ. of Kiel, a MSc in Renewable Energy from Northumbria University in Newcastle (UK), a MSc in Physics from Univ of Paderborn (Germany) and a MSc in Physics from Univ of Zaragoza (Spain).

Dr Gauch is an energy technology analyst at the International Energy Agency in Paris. He is working across multiple transport topics such as electric vehicles, aviation and shipping as well as on technology innovation. For the IEA's latest Global Electric Vehicle Outlook 2026 he was the principal author on technology topics including vehicle-to-grid and autonomous vehicles. He has also contributed to the IEA's Energy Technology Perspectives, State of Energy Innovation and Global Hydrogen Review publications.Before joining the IEA, he worked as a researcher at the University of Cambridge, where he developed tools for efficient early-stage building design and was a lecturer on transport decarbonisation. Hannes holds an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology as well as a PhD from Imperial College London in Aeronautical Engineering.

Guro Grøtterud is the Director of Regulatory Affairs and a Senior Project Manager at NODES. Guro has been working in the European Energy sector since 2006, with main focus on regulating electricity markets. Prior to joining NODES in 2023, she held positions in the National Regulatory Authorities for Energy in France and Norway, and in EDF. She also worked as a national expert in ACER in 2021-2022. Guro is part of SmartEN's Board of Directors and chairs the Markets & Networks Committee. Guro holds Engineering degrees (MSc) from Ecole Polytechnique (2004) and Ecole des Mines de Paris (ParisTech, 2005

Philip Hahn, Dipl.-Ing., is the Head of Flexibility Marketing at CyberGrid, where he leads balancing services, asset prequalification, consulting, and market intelligence activities across European energy markets. He has more than ten years of experience in system services management, energy trading, and the development of technical and operational solutions for power system operations.Before joining CyberGrid, Philip spent nearly a decade at EVN AG, working in SCADA system implementation, control energy, new asset prequalification, and intraday and spot market trading, and acting as project leader for several complex technological initiatives, including the development of the Flex-Regler flexibility management system.He holds a bachelor's and master's degree in Energy Systems and Automation Technology from the Technical University of Vienna, with additional studies at Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Philip is fluent in German and English and active in the Young Energy Professionals program of the World Energy Council.

Niklas has been working at The Mobility House since 2022, where he leads projects in the field of vehicle-grid integration (VGI). He has been responsible for Europe's first commercial Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) product developed in collaboration with Renault, as well as additional projects and partnerships advancing bidirectional charging and the integration of electric vehicles into energy systems.In his current role as Head of Bidi Home, Niklas oversees the development of The Mobility House's bidirectional DC wallbox and drives the integration of electric vehicles into residential energy systems through home energy management systems (HEMS).Prior to joining The Mobility House, he gained several years of experience developing and scaling new business models across the energy and e-mobility sectors, including charging infrastructure (AC/DC), smart metering, photovoltaics, and energy management systems.Niklas began his career in the energy sector in Copenhagen in 2016, working for a leading utility company to support its entry into the German market for Frequency Containment Reserve (FCR), which sparked his lasting interest in the energy transition.

Torsten Knop spent his whole career in the utility industry. After a brief period working for an industry association he joined the RWE Group (today E.ON) in 1999. Here he was mostly focused on public affairs issues concerning transmission and distribution grids. With the start of formal regulation in Germany in 2005 he moved to regulatory affairs and is currently responsible for European Regulation at E.ON SE. He is an economist by qualification.

Katharina is the Communications and Event Manager at E-Mobility Europe, where her task is to raise awareness and spread the word on all activities of the association. With German and Swiss roots, Katharina's previous work experience took her to various communications-related positions in both the public and private sector in Greece, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Belgium. Most recently, Katharina worked in the renewable energy sector, which further deepened her interest in EU sustainability developments.

Dr. Casimir Lorenz is Managing Director for Central Europe at Aurora Energy Research. He advises investors, utilities, and developers on transactions and strategic planning, with a strong focus on assessing project, market, and regulatory risks across European markets. His experience includes due diligence support on transactions across the full value chain of energy markets especially utilities, IPPs, cross-technology portfolios and infrastructure. He has also guided companies on market entry strategies throughout Europe, helping them navigate commercial uncertainties and evolving policy environments. He has furthermore supported utilities, NGOs, and governments onmarket design. Before joining Aurora, he worked at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) and the German Advisory Council on the Environment. He studied industrial engineering and completed a PhD in economics at TU Berlin, focusing on power market modelling.  

Florian Mayr is a recognized expert in deals strategy, with a particular focus on energy transition and storage. As a Partner at Strategy&, the global strategy consultancy of PwC, Florian guides clients through the complexities of the energy transition landscape. His expertise for renewables and cleantech is invaluable to financial investors, major corporations, and cleantech innovators, offering insights through due diligence processes, value creation strategies, and strategic development. Florian is also active in authoring industry publications and social media content and is a sought-after speaker, especially on topics related to energy storage. Before joining Strategy&, Florian spent two decades in senior roles at cleantech advisory boutique Apricum, RWE, and McKinsey, consistently focusing on the energy sector, particularly on renewables and cleantech. He holds master's degrees both in engineering and business administration from the Technical University of Berlin.

Dr. Anica Mertins holds the position of Manager for Charging Infrastructure Technology & Energy Systems at NOW GmbH's National Centre for Charging Infrastructure, a role she has been performing since October 2023. Her work focuses on integrating charging infrastructure into the energy system, with an emphasis on controlled and bidirectional charging.

Cécile Musialski is a strategic business and policy leader with a proven track record in innovation and purpose-driven transformation. Currently serving as Head of Public Affairs for Tesla's Energy Division across EMEA, she brings together industrial strategy, business acumen, and regulatory insight to drive impactful change. Before joining Tesla, Cécile was Chief Commercial Officer for AGC Automotive's FeelInGlass® division, where she co-founded and built the company's automotive interior glazing business unit for Europe, successfully accomplishing the full innovation cycle, from initial proof-of-concept demonstration through to market commercialization. Prior to that, she worked as an attorney specializing in Energy and Transactional Law.

Isabel is a research analyst with the Global Energy Storage team at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables, where she focuses on distributed storage markets in Europe.Before Wood Mackenzie, Isabel worked at Maxeon Solar Technologies (now TCL Sunpower Global) as a Business Analyst for storage and other residential energy solutions, including HEMS, VPP, and EV charging. Before that, she was part of Audi's Corporate Strategy Sustainability team, where she contributed to developing the company's ESG strategy.Isabel holds a Master's degree in Sustainable Resource Management from the Technical University of Munich and a Master's degree in Political Philosophy from Pompeu Fabra University. Before that, she studied a Bachelor's degree in International Business at the University of Valencia.

Mark Nigge-Uricher is a Senior Business Developer with extensive international experience in driving innovation and growth within the energy sector. Currently with Alliander, Mark specializes in system operations, collaboration, and digital transformation. Known for fostering collaboration, business venturing and implementing innovative solutions. Mark has previously been with Bosch.IO being responsible for energy management solutions and consulting on innovation in the Energy IoT domain.

Kilian Reichert is a German TV- and Event-Presenter. He works with The smarter E for two decades now. For more than 15 years he is the face of the The smarter E Award Ceremonies. Kilian holds a Master of Speaking Sciences, Political Sciences and Psychology of the University of Munich (LMU).

Christoph Richter is in charge of Product Management for the German PCS manufacturer and system integrator Freqcon. He has a background in nanoscience and experience with large-scale thermal as well as electrochemical energy storage technologies.

Kathrin Rust is CEO of the German subsidiary of Swiss energy technology company Solar Manager. After holding several management positions in market-leading corporations - at the interface between customer and IT - she is now responsible for the market expansion of a hardware-based energy management system (HEMS) in Germany, operating at the intersection of household, regulation and energy industry. She shapes key future topics such as the system integration of renewable energies, dynamic tariffs and the grid-friendly control of decentralised flexibility. Her strength lies in combining technical depth, regulatory understanding and entrepreneurial implementation skills. She thinks about the energy transition in a systemic way - from individual households to the integration of flexibility into the energy market. For her, change, learning and curiosity are not just buzzwords, but the attitude with which she takes responsibility and shapes change. She is convinced that the energy transition can only succeed with the help of digitalisation and has made it her mission with Solar Manager to make this change tangible in people's everyday lives

Heiko Seitz is a Partner and Global eMobility Leader at PwC. With more than 20 years of experience shaping smart and sustainable transport ecosystems worldwide, he advises governments, global industry leaders, and investors on national mobility transformation strategies-accelerating  ecarbonisation, enabling autonomous mobility, and integrating next-generation multimodal ransport systems. A regular commentator on CNN, CNBC, and Bloomberg, Heiko connects policy insight, commercial strategy, and execution to help organisations deliver the future of mobility.  

Romain Serres is the co-founder and CEO of Tilt Energy. An engineer from Arts et Métiers with a master's in data science from Columbia University, he has worked extensively on the intersection of forecasting, control architecture and flexible demand. His earlier research focused on optimal grid management for New York State. Before founding Tilt, he served as a data scientist at Infor and BlaBlaCar and later co-founded Kiro, an AI platform for medical analytics. At Tilt Energy, he serves as CEO and leads the development of the company across Europe with a clear goal : deliver a reliable platform enabling energy players to better anticipate imbalances and maximize value in balancing markets.

Tetik serves as a Project Manager at CharIN. The association also engages in special projects related to charging interoperability issues, where he represents CharIN. As an electric mobility enthusiast, Tetik is passionate about shaping the future of technology. Since joining CharIN, he has led the Focus Groups on charging connection, grid integration, and energy. Additionally, he manages the MCS and cybersecurity working groups, contributing to industry advancements. His background includes a master's degree in automotive engineering from the Technical University of Berlin. Early in his career, he gained experience in project management for electric car development at Mercedes Benz. Afterwards, he was involved in vehicle testing activities with Bosch.

- Electrical Engineer (University of Karlsruhe, today KIT) - PhD in the field of modeling and development of control strategies for fuel cell systems (Fraunhofer ISE and University of Karlsruhe, today KIT) - Since 03/2024 Energy Storage Chief Expert at Huawei Nuremberg Research Center - From 2017 to 02/2024 Head of Department 'Electrical Energy Storage' and Coordinator of Business Unit 'Electrical Energy Storage' at Fraunhofer ISE - From 2011 to 2016 Head of Department 'PV Off-Grid Solutions and Battery System Technology' at Fraunhofer ISE - From 2005 to 2010 Head of Group 'Off-Grid Power Supply' - Until 02/2024 Contact Person for Battery Systems at Fraunhofer Battery Alliance - From 2021 to 02/2024 Spokesman of R&D Advisory Board of German Energy Storage Systems Association (BVES) - From 2022 to 02/2024 Member of Steering Committee and Technical Advisor of Working Group 'Stationary Applications and Integration' of Batteries Europe / Batteries European Partnership Association (BEPA)

Michael Villa is Executive Director of smartEn - Smart Energy Europe, the European business association integrating the decentralized solutions of the clean energy transition. He joined smartEn in 2018 when he led the advocacy efforts as Head of Policy. Before joining smartEn, he worked as Senior Consultant to provide specific advocacy support to clients both in the EU and Middle East in the energy sector. Among others, he led the Secretariat of a cross-sectorial business organisation, the European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE), and supported Knauf Insulation as Public Affairs Adviser in Italy. Michael worked also in the European Parliament for a Cypriot MEP and at the Embassy of Italy in Copenhagen during the UN Climate Change Conference COP15. Michael has a Master at the Institute for European Studies in Brussels and a bachelor degree from the Catholic University of Milan.

Jan Winkler is Head of Business Development at The Mobility House Energy, where he drives strategic partnerships and innovative solutions at the intersection of energy and mobility. With a focus on smart electric vehicle charging and vehicle-grid integration, Jan & his team lead initiatives that unlock the potential of electric fleets to enhance grid stability, reduce costs, and accelerate the energy transition.

Amber Woodward is International Public Affairs Manager at the Centre for Net Zero, a not-for-profit, open research institute founded by the Octopus Energy Group, reshaping demand to push fossil fuels out of energy systems. Amber gets research into the hands of influential global stakeholders, driving bolder policy-making, and an accelerated energy transition. She has chaired keynote sessions on open-source AI applications in energy systems, participated in panels on US transport electrification, and provided expert commentary on EU policy developments in the media. Previously, Amber worked for the UK government in various strategy and policy roles - most recently advising ministers in the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero and in the Prime Minister's office, No.10. She holds a first class degree in Geographical Sciences from the University of Bristol.

Edurne Zoco currently leads team's research activities across clean technologies and supply chains at S&P Global Energy. She manages internal and external initiatives, providing research, analysis, and actionable insight to customers on the development of clean technologies and their role in energy transition. Dr. Zoco has been involved in the renewable industry for almost 20 years holding global positions within corporate and strategic marketing. Dr. Zoco contributes to a wide range of deliverables across the research team. She is the author of numerous reports, including cost breakdown models, companies' benchmarking, price forecasting, supply chain analysis, and technology outlook delivered to established companies and new entrants in the cleantech sector. She has presented at leading industry events and conferences, and her commentary and analysis appear regularly on industry and mainstream media. Dr. Zoco holds a PhD in political science from the University of Notre Dame, United States.